A musical with a classroom full of feuding high school drama society students is a tall order for any actor to perform single-handedly. Throw in song and dance routines based on a story of murderous teen rivalry with nods to the 1950 Hollywood classic All About Eve and you have this tricky solo production.
However much of an outre idea it may be, Luke Bayer meets the feat and flies with it. He plays Desmond Channing, the diva-ish and devilish heir of Bette Davis’s Margo Channing, who is president of a school drama society in Florida. We meet post-death, from the inner circles of hell, as he re-enacts his enmity with Evan Harris – the new drama society kid he once mentored – which led to his death.
Bayer’s performance brings out every last black laugh and his voice weaves its own dark magic in its ability to change in tenor and texture with every character he plays. It is clear, strong and androgynous at times, soaring and glittering through Alexander Sage Oyen’s excellent, infectious songs, such as Live from Hell! and His Best Friend.
He slips in an out of his jeans and dons feathered sleeves or tap shoes and makes a captivating villain – a handsome devil cum high school brat – sneering, sulking and plotting his way though the show.
Under the deft direction of Joe McNeice, this 2017 musical, which now makes its UK debut, also alludes to other classic film fare alongside All About Eve, as well as sending up the genre of the high school movie. Channing’s popular-guy persona, together with his bitchy asides, are amusingly reminiscent of Mean Girls and Heathers, with high school lockers lining the back of the set (also designed by McNeice).
It is very much a musical in love with musical theatre: Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline are numerously name-checked while stagey references and in-jokes are amply dropped, though these remain within the grasp of non-aficionados and bring added humour.
The clever, snide and witty book by Nora Brigid Monahan grapples with teen insecurity, envy and the struggle for success of a wannabe actor. It is about sexuality, too, but with the lightest of touches (arguably too light) as the flagrantly camp Desmond talks emphatically about his heterosexuality.
But, for such a camp show, it has surprising darkness, as Desmond sings in the seedy depths of the Seventh Circle. Bayer embodies this difficult role without any sense of strain, and even a technical issue that brings a temporary halt to the performance on press night does not impede our enjoyment. A magnetic production with tons of cheek and a true diva spirit, this should not be missed.
Diva: Live from Hell! is at Turbine theatre, London, until 3 September.
